Unusual twisted impetus makes the villain very hard to trace fro Rhyme & Sachs. Deaver uses this to pace the book well, with other characters taking the path away fro straightforward

Wow this is already the 14th Lincoln Rhyme book. I have read all of them, and enjoyed the journey with Lincoln. This was really a good, thrilling, captivating, entertaining (what more adjectives can I use to describe an amazing book?), and recommended to anyone who loves a well written who-dun-it.
Recommended.

The Cutting Edge is the new book in the Lincoln Rhyme series and, as always, it is a thrilling read. The plot is cleverly written and even if it's not fast paced or an easy read it is easy to follow the story line. I enjoyed to re-connect with the old characters and to learn a few new names.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton!

Another brilliant thriller with more twists, turns and unexpected connections - every time you think you have a handle on where things are going and why, there's a deft sidestep and everything changes.
This is one of my favourite series and I urge everyone to read it. This is a good place as as well as the main story there are hints to previous events that will whet your curiosity.

I am in awe of this author's ability to plot. The way he sows the seeds and sits back and allows Lincoln, Sachs et al get on with things in their own inimitable ways. We start this book with a triple murder in the diamond district. There appears to be two people missing from the big picture; the perpetrator and a witness. The race is on to find both. No mean feat being as the motive for the crime is not clear cut. Not a robbery although a few things are missing. Could it be that the couple who have gone to buy their engagement ring are real targets? This theory becomes hotter when other soon-to-be-weds are subsequently targeted. Alongside this, if it wasn't enough, we also have a construction site which is tied in to the supply of geothermal energy. As you can imagine, there are those who would prefer this not to be happening and who might be going out of their way to make sure it doesn't. If this wasn't enough, we also have Lincoln being asked to help the defense with expert analysis in a trial of a really bad man. A connection that would be rather controversial to say the least, and which could put him in hot water.
Confused...? Well, I was for quite a while. Although, on my journey, I learned an awful lot about diamonds. I was even doubting heavily some of what I was reading along the way as I thought that the author had made one heck of a boo boo. Silly, silly me... you'd think I'd read enough of this guy's books to have learned to trust him by now. Cutting to the chase, it was one heck of a ride but we got there eventually. I lost track of the number of lightbulb moments, followed by the sound of me kicking myself for being dense. This author will always be too clever for me and for that I thank him. Too many books these days are too easy for me to work out and I crave this sort of book that keeps me hanging whilst at the same time doesn't belittle me for not being with it! He has a certain way of obfuscating things that, when explained, make perfect sense without patronising the reader. A rare skill these days, I can tell you.
All the other things you'd expect from an author of his calibre were front and centre in this book. I've already mentioned plot but the characters were well described, the story got on with itself nicely without being overly padded, and pacing was perfectly balanced and congruent with the story as told.
All in all, a cracking addition to an already well loved series. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I have read quite a few of this series but not for a while and was chuffed to bits to get an ARC of this from Netgalley.It was easy to jump straight into the characters and the story was as complex and puzzling as I expected.To be honest it was possibly a little too complex at times and I tended to switch off a little.I would have preferred it to be a little shorter and pacier but I am an impatient reader and other readers might enjoy this style more .Overall a good book and well worth a read.

Always love a new Deaver novel. Gripping, twisty, they never disappoint. The characters are so well set up now that you can always leap into the story.

Too many things made little or no sense

This is the 14th book in the Lincoln Rhyme series. He is married to detective Amelia Sachs and acts as a consultant for hire by anyone who needs the benefit of his scalpel-like dissection of facts and evidence.

The setting is New York and focuses initially on the diamond cutting sector. A world-renowned diamond cutter is murdered along with an engaged couple. The cutter’s apprentice disturbs the killer and is shot, but escapes. The killer sets out to hunt him down as well as any other possible witnesses.

On receipt of this book to read, my initial reaction was one of great pleasure as I have enjoyed Jeffery Deaver’s novels in the past so was looking forward to reading this one. However, as the story progressed I became less enamoured. Although it’s well-written, despite a few, forgivable grammatical errors, I had an increasing sense of unease. The plot didn’t draw me in as expected and was over-complicated to the point where my credulity snapped. Surely no criminal would go to such lengths to establish a particular situation?

It’s impossible to give specific examples without introducing spoilers and I am sure many Deaver fans will disagree with me and enjoy reading this latest Rhyme novel and that’s what reviewing is all about – expressing an opinion and expecting others at times to disagree. However, I tired of feeling that I was being lectured by someone who felt that he needed to proudly display his knowledge – surely this author has no need to bolster his ego by so doing. I would expect an author of this calibre to have done his research well and to be able to demonstrate this in a much subtler manner.

Additionally, around three quarters the way through, the reader is given a detailed explanation of why X did Y to Z etc which lasted about two pages (well it did on my Kindle). It was all far too complicated for me and left me feeling totally disengaged and, to be honest, not a little confusedC.

It may well be time for Lincoln Rhyme to charge up the wheelchair battery one last time and ride off gracefully into the sunset. He’s had a good run.

mr zorg

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Lincoln and Amelia, now safely married, return in a rather complicated adventure. As usual, Deaver tells several stories that in the end merge into one, but it is sometimes difficult to see the connections. The book is full of names and acronyms and everybody is a suspect. There are several cliffhangers but as a whole, the story is actually not very exciting. However, you do not read Deavers' books for all the excitement; you read them because they are very well written intelligent stories with lots of interesting information. And that is what you get here - I look at my diamond ring now with new eyes.

Really disappointing. I used to love a bit of crazy escapism in the world of Sachs and Rhyme but never again.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 Stars

This was my first Jeffery Deaver book and I did enjoy it however for me it lacked that magic ingredient to keep you hooked.

It was a police procedural style book, with very detailed chapters.

Enjoyable but won’t blow your mind.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of The Cutting Edge, the 14th novel to feature criminalist Lincoln Rhyme and detective Amelia Sachs of NYPD.

Lincoln and Amelia are asked to investigate a particularly brutal killing where a top diamantaire (diamond cutter) has been tortured and killed along with his clients, a newly engaged couple, in the workshop to pick up their engagement ring. Despite the theft of uncut diamonds it would appear that the couple are the target when there are more attacks on newly engaged couples and The Promisor contacts the press with his philosophy but they are not the only ones as he is on a mission to kill any potential witnesses including Vimal Lahori who walks in on the attack and manages to escape.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Cutting Edge. It is quite slow to start, not in terms of action but investigatively as there are few clues and the motive is confusing but the ending and the twists involved are outstanding. Mr Deaver had me fooled completely and I am in awe of his devious mind although I probably shouldn't be having read all the previous novels in the series. Much of this, however, was dependent on my willingness to believe that such smart operators as Lincoln and Amelia could be stumped and take certain things at face value, which, to my shame, I did.

I must admit that I found the first half of the book quite boring. There are several events but Lincoln and Amelia make very little headway so it is all about Amelia "walking the scene" for little return and descriptions of the diamond cutter's craft, most of which went in and straight back out of my brain. Interestingly they have a picture of the perpetrator and the reader gets his perspective but the novel doesn't really take off until the second half when Lincoln starts to put it together and the twists come thick and fast.

Lincoln and Amelia are now married but it's a very modern marriage as she has kept her apartment and doesn't seem to live with him. Excellent idea in my opinion! Lincoln also now has the use of his right arm so his quadriplegia is now just there rather than the massive issue it used to be. Apart from that there is little change in the characters with them both still unwilling to share their deepest thoughts. As the novel is a thriller the characters are not the main thrust so they are developed in line with the plot rather than any deep, meaningful portrayal. Having said that there are a couple of great vignettes of people in a dreadful situation (not going to tell you what it is) which really bring home the impact of disaster and make it so much more real.

The Cutting Edge is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.